A Lawyer's Guide to Love and Poker
by organanation
Summary: A group of old navy buddies get together now and then for poker and a few glasses of good scotch. Each one has his own story and a woman or two in his life-including Mr. Perry Mason, who holds his cards closer to the chest than most. Circa late 50s to 60s


_AN: Just some light-hearted fun with a little twist at the end. Thanks ever-so-much to perrylovesdella for the beta and to ValancyStirling for the comments!_

Tuesday night: Poker night. It was a low stakes game with old army pals. There were a few faithful attendees, and a couple less-than-regulars. It was common for the games to go well into the wee hours of the morning. Bachelor's dinners of sandwiches and pretzels were provided by the host, and the men took turns providing fine libations.

Frank Wheeler was dealing. Frank was an accountant with a head for figures and an eye for blondes. To his left was Harvey Banks, a salesman. Harvey had a wife at home and a redhead out in his Nevada sales territory. Next was Confirmed Bachelor Hal Webber. A doctor during the day, Hal hosted the group in his small apartment every Tuesday night. The fourth was Calvin Fife, a banker and the group's only _happily _married member.

And, rounding out the game when his law practice allowed, was Mr. Perry Mason. Even back when they'd all been non-coms playing poker on the floor of a navy destroyer, it had been hard to get Mason to spill anything personal. He was as secretive about his life as he was about any of his confidential cases.

During the game, they'd discuss the dames they were chasing. It had happened during every game since the navy, and in every game, Perry had been politely silent during the bragging. He'd always taken the good-natured ribbing that went along with it, too, brushing it off with excuses of studying and then work. Once a few of the men had started pursuing one particular lady or another, Hal thought maybe Perry would open up a little about some special girl he'd been keeping a secret the whole time to protect her from the jokes. But no such lady ever surfaced.

Hal assumed the man was maybe just shy, or maybe he didn't fancy the ladies. Hell, _that_ wasn't something Hal pretended to understand, but he was willing to let each man make his own way.

"That's two for Cal, one for Perry, and three for the dealer," Frank captioned, doling out the cards.

"Another round?" Hal asked, holding up the bottle of scotch they were working through. Harvey held up his glass and Hal poured a healthy measure.

"I'll take a small bit; I told Gloria I'd be home by midnight," Calvin said.

"Frank?" The man nodded towards his glass as he contemplated the men around the table, weighing his chances.

"Perry? How about you?"

"No, thanks. I've gotta go after this hand."

"You're practically a priest compared to the rest of us," Harvey teased good-naturedly.

"Unless you're skipping out because you've got a better offer," Calvin added.

"Just from my pillow," Perry replied with a chuckle. "These late nights and early mornings are turning me into a grumpy old man. My secretary greets me with a cup of coffee in her hand and she won't get down to business until I've drained it."

"That's some secretary," Hal murmured, placing his bet. "Where'd you find her? I gotta go there and get me one."

"I think Ms. Street is one of a kind," Perry said.

"Unlike these," Frank said gleefully, tossing down his cards-four tens and a king. Perry raised his eyebrows and looked around the circle before flipping his hand: a straight. He collected the bills off the center of the table.

"How come you never asked her to marry you? You talk about her like she's heaven on earth," Calvin asked as Frank shuffled and the others prepped the table for the next round.

Perry pulled his coat on and tucked his winnings in the breast pocket. Frank continued to shuffle, but they were all waiting for the answer.

Perry tipped his hat onto his head. "Who said I never did?"

00

It took a little longer to get home these days. It was only fitting that a newly married couple find a new place to make their own. When their leases ran out, they both let go of their apartments and chose a little house together in the suburbs. It hadn't taken long for that little white house to become a home-_their_ home.

Somehow, _knowing_ Della would be waiting for him-being certain, beyond the shadow of a doubt-was even sweeter than guessing whether he'd find her or not.

Perry left his hat, coat, and shoes in the hall closet and walked through the dark house upstairs to their bedroom.

"How was poker?" Della asked with a yawn, tucking her novel into the drawer on her nightstand.

"Nobody there was as pretty as you." He smiled as he hung his jacket over the back of the armchair.

"Not even Frank?" she teased as he divested himself of his belt and tie.

"Not even Frank," he confirmed, stretching out beside her on top of the covers, hooking his arm over her waist and pulling her in.

"I'm sorry you didn't have anything nice to look at," she consoled teasingly, patting his check and stroking his skin gently with her thumb. He kissed her wrist and drew her into his arms.

"I won four bucks," he murmured, brushing his hands over her back.

"Well, well, Mr. Vanderbilt, what are you going to do with all of that money?"

"Maybe I'll buy my wife a diamond," he murmured, leaning in to kiss her temple.

"Your wife would settle for some coffee on the way to the office in the morning," Della whispered conspiratorially, turning her head.

"Might be a little more sensible," Perry agreed, meeting her kiss.

She pulled back abruptly. "You took the good scotch out of the cupboard, didn't you?" she murmured, tapping his chin in playful accusation.

"It was my turn," he responded sheepishly. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice."

"You thought you could come home and kiss me like this and I wouldn't notice? How much did you drink?"

"I'll see your request for coffee on the way to the office and raise it to breakfast at the diner" he offered.

"Keep talking, Counselor. You've got a little more ground to cover."


End file.
